Fix an unresponsive iPhone home button

October 3, 2012

Transcript

-No matter how good you are to your iPhone.
There is a chance that eventually your hone button will crap out.
Just look all the Apple forms filled with users complaining about a home button that's slow to respond or just doesn't work.
Apple did redesign the home button for the iPhone 5 to prevent this from happening, but if you have an older iPhone, that's out of warranty like mine,
here are 4 things you can do to fix that defunct.
Okay, the first thing you wanna try is to calibrate your home button.
This is something that Apple does recommend doing especially if your home button does click, but it's just slow to respond.
Okay, open up and Apple app like the clock.
Now, hold down the sleep button until slide to power shows up.
As soon as it does, hold down the home button.
The Apple closed and your home button will be calibrated.
Check to see if that fixed.
If home button still doesn't work, try this next strike.
There is a chance that your normal usage wear and tear, the dock port got miss aligned moving the home button along with it.
Before we continue, beware that if you're too feisty with your iPhone, you can damage it.
Okay, get an iPhone USB cable and plug it in.
Now, push down on the top just a little so that the 30-in connector
pushes up behind the home button, then tap the home button, and remove the cable.
For many people this little hack will do the trick, but if your home button is still not responding well enough, give this next step a try.
Considering, this is a physical button, you have to remember that there is space around it where dirt can get stuck.
For this fix, you'll 99.99% isopropyl alcohol that you can find at a hardware store.
Do not use rubbing alcohol
because that has water in it and will further damage your phone.
Okay, using a cotton ball, tissue or eye dropper, apply a few drops of the alcohol directly on and around the home button avoiding the screen.
Once you do, grab a pencil or other narrow object and tap, tap the home button to all the alcohol to get in and around button.
Give it about 10 minutes to completely dry before checking to see if the alcohol solved the problem.
I'm sorry that I had to come to this, but if the 3 previous tips didn't fix your home button, your final option is to enable the one screen home button.
This will put a small button on your screen that will everything your home button would normally do.
Let me show you, go to settings, down to general, then head on over to accessibility.
Here, scroll down to assistive touch, turn that on and you'll see this new button show up on your screen.
Now, when you tap it, you'll get a choice of actions like home will take to your home screen or you can activate Siri from here.
If the button ever gets in the way just drag it somewhere else.
This solution is hardly ideal, but it could do over until you're ready to buy a new phone or get it repaired.
If you have any questions or ideas, let me know on twitter and check out more how to's on howto.cnet.com.
For CNET, I'm Sharon Vaknin.